The InterFest

On Boxing Day most people went home quite early.  Christian, Cassie and Josh went exceptionally early.  They had a puppy to pick up.

Austin, Kaori and Tatsuki went to Torquay overnight to visit the Frangoses

Lindsey, Ian, Jim and I started the post-Christmas clear up.

Tuesday was a public holiday, to make up for Christmas Day being on a Sunday. A nice quiet day for us. Lindsey and Ian went to Torquay for afternoon tea with the Frangoses and to bring Austin, Kaori and Tatsuki back.

We came down to Melbourne with Lindsey very early on Wednesday.  She was going back to work.  There was no real point me going in - I had cleared up all the scanning last Friday and no one much had been in since then to generate any more.  Jim and I had breakfast in the shopping complex and came to East Melbourne on the tram and had a gentle, quiet day.

When Lindsey came back in the evening we ambled up Smith Street in search of somewhere to eat.  The places we had in mind were closed for the InterFest but The Noble Experiment was open. It's a place that does interesting, experimental food (hence the name!).  We had the Chef's menu: six courses of tasty, unusual dishes.  We enjoyed all but one course, not being big fans of creamy goat's cheese (but that's a risk you take when you choose to have a surprise menu in a place specialising in innovative food!). On the other hand, the lamb buns were amazing. I am not sure that I would ever smoke carrots, which I tend to use for sweetness, but it was an interesting idea.  However, the dessert course was a real tour de force.  Watermelon marinated in gin; yoghurt parfait; a granita of mint, lime and cucumber.  Fabulous!

On Thursday, Lindsey, Jim and I headed to Southbank to an enormous factory outlet area that I had no idea existed.  In the event that we ever get a place of our own it would be a great place to stock up on household necessities. We hopped on the tram to come home - and the heavens opened.  We managed to get from the tram to the flat without getting soaked. Then the heavens opened again

You can't actually see the rain.  It was like a sheet!

Then we swapped Lindsey (who drove back to Ballarat) for Austin, Kaori and Tatsuki (who drove down from Ballarat)

We took Tatsuki to the local park on Friday morning

And then we all drove out to Robert and Susan's place for a magnificent lunch, catch up and chatter.

There has been a lot of very delicious food this InterFest!!

And now we are poised, ready to tumble exuberantly, or to slide gently into whatever 2017 has in store for us.  But first I should probably get dressed.  And we need to get to Warragul. We're supposed to be greeting the New Year from there. In day clothes rather than my (admittedly rather beautiful) new pyjamas.

(Somebody recently said, I think on Facebook, that it said a lot about them that they had more clothes for sleeping in than for going out and about in.  I thought this was a fine ambition that I was unlikely ever to achieve. I think I might have almost got there!!!)